The Columnist Manifesto

My German host at U of Boogie, a law professor, told me that when he traveled in the U.S. a couple of years ago (post 9/11), he told his American hosts that if he went missing for more than 12 hours, would they please make urgent inquiries to federal authorities about whether he was being detained incognito.

So that's the deal. You know how travelers tend to have a heightened perception of local dangers in their travel destinations? "If you go to New York, you'll be mugged or shot on the subway." "If you go to Italy, you'll be kidnapped." "If you take the train from Krakow to Prague, you'll be knocked unconscious with chloroform spray and robbed."

For well-informed Europeans it's, "If you go to the United States, you can be arrested and detained indefinitely in secret." How's that for a perception of the world's leading democracy?

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